Insecurity is also often known as "shyness"Shyness results in very similar traits to insecurity,and often stems from the same causes.

Everybody acts insecure in some ways and socially awkward people aren't an exception.

A man recently told me, “I used to be a really insecure person; at times I'd be down on myself about what a loser I was, and in the next moments I'd be riding high on thoughts of how much better I was than most people.”

Insecurity is interesting like that.Sometimes it appears as straightforward low self-confidence.At other times it's the opposite, where you have a false sense of superiority, built on a foundation of rationalizations and false beliefs to protect your ego.

Insecurity (Poor Self-image) and Insecurity Traits and Behaviours

Generally being down on yourself: your basic low self-esteem in other words.

Purposely miss opportunities. You count yourself out before the game even starts because you're convinced you won't do well. e.g., turning down invitations, not trying totalk to people because you're sure they'll turn you away.

Turn people off by being overly being mopey, moody, and self-deprecating.

Subtly sabotage yourself to confirm beliefs that you're not good enough. Convinced ahead of time you're going to fail, you may not try hard enough, or even mess up on purpose to get the supposedly inevitable failure over with.

You may even talk so much about how you suck and that people always reject you, that you drive potential friends away who would have stuck around if you had never complained about yourself in the first place.

Feeling nobody likes you, or that they're out to get you.

You walk into a room (or leave one) and you hear a table of people laughing behind you. Do you instantly assume they were laughing at you?

You're with a group of friends you just met and they start snickering to themselves over one of their in-jokes. Do you again assume they're having a laugh at your expense?

At work do you create complex conspiracy theories to explain why your coworkers don't like you and are out to get you?

Feeling like no one understands you.

Quirky, atypical people often feel misunderstood. This may be rightly so, as not every regular person will 'get' them. It may be all in your head as well.

Feeling misunderstood may cause you to see other people as the enemy.

You may feel like rebelling against their standards in a knee-jerk way.

You may be too touchy and sensitive and interpret every little ambiguous comment as a sign others don't know the real you.

Insecure people are also known as being "Avoidant".

Avoiding occupational activities that require significant interpersonal contact. Job interviews or promotions may be turned down because your own perceptions of your abilities do not match the job description.

You are reluctant to participate in social involvement without clear assurance that they will be accepted. People with this disorder assume other people are not safe to trust until proven otherwise. Others must offer repeated support and encouragement in order to persuade them to participate in a social event.

You fear being shamed or ridiculed in close relationships. As a result, people with this personality become overly alert to behavioural cues that may indicate disapproval or rejection. They will flee a situation in which they believe that others might turn against them.

You are preoccupied with being criticized or rejected. Much mental and physical energy is spent brooding about and avoiding situations perceived as "dangerous."

You are inhibited in unfamiliar social situations due to feelings of inadequacy.

Low self-esteem undermines your confidence in meeting and conversing with new acquaintances.

You regard yourself as socially inept. This self-disparagement is especially apparent when you must make social contacts with strangers.

People with avoidant personality disorder perceive themselves as unappealing orinferior to others.

You are reluctant to take social risks, in order to avoid possible humiliation.

Avoidant people seek interactions that promise the greatest amount of acceptance while minimizing the likelihood of embarrassment or rejection. You might go to a school dance, for example, but remain in one corner chatting with close friends rather than going out on the dance floor with someone they do not know well.

Occasional feelings of self-doubt and fear in new and unfamiliar social or personal relationships are not unusual, nor are they unhealthy, as these situations may trigger feelings of inadequacy and the wish to hide from social contact in even the most self-confident individuals.

But Avoidant, Insecure people carry it to an extreme where it makes major portions of their lives dysfunctional.

About Insecurity, Shyness, Indecisiveness and AvoidanceHuman beings are social creatures and they need social interaction, feedback, and validation of their worth.their daily life, especially from their work and from stable relationships.

The emotionally immature person, however, has low levels of self-esteem and self-confidence and consequently feels insecure.

To counter those feelings of insecurity they will spend a large proportion of their lives creating situations in which they become the centre of attention.

It may be that the need for attention is inversely proportional to emotional maturity, therefore anyone indulging in attention-seeking behaviours is telling you how emotionally immature they are.

Attention-seeking behaviour is surprisingly common.Being the centre of attention alleviates feelings of insecurity and inadequacy but the relief is temporary as the underlying problem remains un-addressed.

Those problems are:

low self-confidence and

low self-esteem,

and consequent low levels of self-worth and self-love.

A well-known attention seeking method is the "Drama King/Queen" routine.

Many attention seekers commonly exploit the suffering of others to gain attention for themselves.

Or they may exploit their own suffering, or alleged suffering.

Many become the "bad-news mongerers", always ready to pass on any bad news they heard on the news, read in the newspaper or heard from others. It makes them feel important to do so.

In some cases they will use negative childhood situations to draw both attention and pity: in many cases this is deliberately exploited to obtain the attention of opposite gender persons: see the Lost Child, Relationships and Dating for more detail.

In worst-case situations of attention-seeking, insecure and emotionally immature people often exhibit bullying behaviours, especially manipulation and deception. These are necessary in order to obtain attention which would not otherwise be forthcoming.

Bullies and harassers have the emotional age of a young child and will exhibit temper tantrums, deceit, lying and manipulation to avoid exposure of their true nature and to evade accountability and sanctions.

Insecurity can be a very difficult hurdle for any person to overcome.Its cousin, indecisiveness, can be a crippling factor in making good choices.

Insecurity comes from two root causes

a desire to please others and a general low opinion of oneself. When these two causes combine, the result is someone who is a "people pleaser," who is only happy when others are happy.

Indecisiveness can have multiple causes, one of which is a lack of reliance in one's own abilities, but postponing decisions never solves anything; often it aggravates things.

Insecurity and indecisiveness can take several forms in your personal romance and relationships. One is a nagging fear of all things romantic, and a refusal to get involved with others.

Another is a series of bad relationships, filled with problems such as jealousy, stalking, "clingyness", and even abuse.

Fear of disappointing others and general low-self worth can lead people to accept horrible situations because they are constantly in fear of being abandoned by others.

People with avoidance traits:

Practice avoidance of both social situations and close interpersonal relationships due to an excessive fear of rejection by others.

Desire to be in relationships with others but lack the skills and confidence that are necessary in social interactions.

In order to protect themselves from anticipated criticism or ridicule, they withdraw from other people. This avoidance of interaction tends to isolate them from meaningful relationships, and serves to reinforce their nervousness and awkwardness in social situations.

Are characterized by social withdrawal, shyness, distrustfulness, and emotional distance. These people tend to be very cautious when they speak, and they convey a general impression of awkwardness in their manner.

Most are highly self-conscious and self-critical about their problems relating to others.

Causes:Many Insecure or Avoidant people had painful early experiences of chronic parental criticism and rejection, often due to dysfunction or addiction in the family (alcoholism is one of the most common).

The need to bond with the rejecting parents makes the insecure or avoidant person hungry for relationships but their longing gradually develops into a defensive shell of self-protection against repeated parental criticisms.

These constant parental behaviours have a great effect on their pattern of social withdrawal and contributes to their current adult fear of social contact.

Thus these personality traits typically appear in childhood, with signs of excessive shyness and fear when the child confronts new people and situations.

These characteristics are also developmentally appropriate emotions for children, however, and do not necessarily mean that a pattern of an insecure, avoidant personality will continue into adulthood, but frequently do so.

Avoidant personality disorder can occur in conjunction with other social phobias, mood and anxiety disorders, and personality disorders. The avoidant personality disorder may be either the cause or result of other mood and anxiety disorders.

For example, individuals who suffer from major depressive disorder may begin to withdraw from social situations and experience feelings of worthlessness, symptoms that are also prominent features of avoidant personality disorder.

On the other hand, the insecurity and isolation that are symptoms of avoidant personality disorder can trigger feelings of depression.

Avoidant, insecure people want to have relationships with others but are prevented by their social inadequacies. Often they end up living mostly in isolation.

When shyness, unfounded fear of rejection, hypersensitivity to criticism, and a pattern of social avoidance persist and intensify through adolescence and young adulthood, their lives are drastically affected in major a negative ways.

When it became an ongoing thing, it began to have a long-term negative impact on them; leading to functional impairment by significantly altering occupational choice or lifestyle, or otherwise impacting quality of life; and cause significant emotional distress. Their lives a dysfunctional, emotional mess.

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